FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: State of the Team: New England Patriots
Good breakdown from the always-interesting Andy Benoit.
Kiper tabs Hunter, Mathieu in mock – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
Kiper tabs Hunter, Mathieu in mock – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
I’m on board with Hunter, but I think Mathieu would be a fascinating strategic choice that I’m not sure I agree with. No doubt he’s a electric player, but after seeing the trouble Patrick Chung had holding up inside in the NFL, I’m concerned about the wiry Mathieu.
But from a defensive package standpoint how would the Pats employ Mathieu? They just locked Kyle Arrington in on a four-year deal, and it’s apparent his best fit is in the slot, though he is serviceable and experienced on the outside.
So you’re looking at Mathieu competing with Arrington, but more likely to take a dime slot role. Is that worth a second-round pick? I’m not so sure. And even if he supplants Arrington, that sure doesn’t make his long-term contract look like a good one.
I like Mathieu as a player, I just don’t think I see real value in him for the Pats unless they got him in the 4th round.
We have seen countless times the issues the Patriots cause defenses with Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski on the field together. As good as Gronkowski is, it’s Hernandez that poses the more dangerous threat. Why? Because he, like Gates, can win one-on-one versus corners, especially nickel corners. That’s where the problem arises. You match up to defend the pass, and you still face mismatches in man-to-man coverage. And we haven’t even factored in the running game, which the Patriots consistently utilized effectively with Stevan Ridley to hurt nickel defenses.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/we-have-seen-countless-times-the-issues-the/
Not nearly enough of these last year…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/not-nearly-enough-of-these-last-year/
Patriots 2013 Preseason Schedule
Patriots 2013 Preseason Schedule
August 8-11 TBD at Philadelphia Eagles
Friday 8/16 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
August 22-25 TBD at Detroit Lions
August 29-30 TBD vs. New York Giants
Some good teams that prepare the Pats well for the start of the regular season. Not sure how much else you can analyze a preseason schedule, or how much anyone really cares, except for the unfortunate fans stuck paying full price for the tickets.
Will be interesting to see potential joint practices w/ Eagles, Buccaneers or Lions. BB ties w/ head coaches. NE does play TB in reg. season
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) April 4, 2013
Drafting the Pats: DeAndre Hopkins would add outside explosion | Boston Herald
Drafting the Pats: DeAndre Hopkins would add outside explosion | Boston Herald
Looks like Hopkins is the turning into the most popular Pats pick in most mock drafts.
2013 Patriots Draft Contacts | NEPatriotsDraft.com
2013 Patriots Draft Contacts | NEPatriotsDraft.com
Here’s a great page to bookmark from the outstanding NEPatriotsDraft.com. They’re keeping track of every prospect that the Pats have had private interest in, and a good chunk of their picks from last season were on this list. Sometimes it’s just due diligence, but I’m taking a closer look at all the receivers on here, because of how important that selection will be this year. Not sure they’d take one without extensive board work with him.